Best Trentino Cow's Milk Cheese Types
Alta Badia is a traditional cheese originating from South Tyrol. The cheese is made from pasteurized cow's milk and it's usually left to age for 6 months. Underneath its natural brownish rind, the texture is semi-hard, firm, and compact.
The aromas and flavors are complex, intense, tangy, and milky, with long-lasting toasted notes. This Gruyere-like cheese melts well, so it's often used in local dishes or served as a table cheese. It also goes well with potatoes, cured ham, and dark bread.
It's recommended to pair Alta Badia cheese with fruity red wines or a dry Riesling.
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This semi-hard cheese comes from the Stelvio Valley and the province of Bolzano, located in the mountainous northern Italian region of Trentino-Alto Adige, bordered by Austria to the north-east, which is why Stelvio is sometimes called by its German name - Stilfser.
A product of the well-established cheesemaking culture of the wider Bolzano area, Stelvio or Stilfser is made with milk from cows raised on the local mountain farms. Made for hundreds of years before, it wasn't recognized and named up until the early 1900s.
Fontal is an Italian industrially-produced semi-soft cow's milk cheese that's made throughout Northern Italy. The cheese is a combination of two cheeses – Fontina and Emmental, hence the name. It has a reddish-brown rind that hides a smooth, dense, and slightly elastic texture of the paste.
Fontal ages from 45 to 60 days. It's very aromatic and the flavors are milky, mild, and buttery, with hints of almonds. The cheese melts exceptionally well, so it's recommended to use it in fondues or grill it with wild mushrooms. Drink pairings include Terre d'Agata di Salaparuta and Pignolo di Filiputti.
Another typical northern Italian delicacy produced throughout the Alpine valleys of Fassa and Fiemme, Puzzone di Moena, also known as Spretz Tzaorì, is a semi-cooked and semi-hard washed rind cheese made from raw cow's milk.
It is available either as Stagionato (matured) or Puzzone di Malga, a much sought-after variety made exclusively with milk from summer pastures. Puzzone di Moena is characterized by an intense aroma called puzza (lit. stink), and has a strong yet pleasantly salty flavor with a slightly bitter aftertaste.
Trentingrana is an Italian Grana cheese hailing from Trento. The cheese is made from raw cow's milk and it ages for 22 months. The rind is thick and dark yellow in color, imprinted with the word Trentino on each wheel. The texture is hard, grainy, and compact, while the flavors are sweet, rich, and full.
The aftertaste is floral and delicate, with herbaceous and grassy hints. The cheese has been produced since 1926. It's recommended to eat it as it is or grate it over pasta. Trentingrana can also be used in salads and served with fresh fruit. Pair it with sparkling white wines or full-bodied red wines.
Tyrolean grey cheese is a variety of sour cow's milk cheese, traditionally made on lush Austrian pastures from skimmed milk which was previously left to curdle for several days. This cheese is extremely low in fat, it has a thin crackled rind and a crumbly texture.
Named after the grey colored mold which emerges on the surface right after maturation, Tiroler Graukäse exudes a strong, pungent aroma. It is typically crumbled over buttered wholemeal bread, but it is also an essential ingredient in many traditional Tyrolean dishes such as nettle soup with Kaspressknödeln, a variety of cheese dumplings, or Zillertal donuts.
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Lagrein is a traditional cheese originating from the region of South Tyrol. The cheese is made from pasteurized cow's milk and it's cured with the local Lagrein wine. Underneath its washed rind, the texture is compact and elastic with many small irregular eyes running throughout the paste.
The aroma is garlicky and reminiscent of salami, while the flavors are intense, salty, and meaty, reminiscent of cured sausages. Once the wheels of cheese are drained, they're placed in a mixture of Lagrein wine, garlic, pepper, and herbs for 5 days, and the cheese is then aged for 3 months.
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Bela Badia is an Italian cheese produced in South Tyrol. The cheese is made from cow's milk and ages for 2 months. Underneath its smooth and dry crust, the texture is soft, supple, open, and straw-colored. The interior becomes intense with time and has a creamy, fresh, mild, sweet, and slightly tangy flavor, with hints of milk and grass.
Bela Badia takes its name after the Badia valley, although it is produced in the whole Puster valley. It's recommended to grill Badia and accompany it with a glass of sparkling Brut Hausmannhof Riserva or Riesling Renano.
Tosella is an Italian fresh cheese hailing from Valle di Primiero in Trentino. The cheese is made from raw cow's milk that's whole or partially skimmed, on the same day of the milking, so it should be eaten as soon as possible. Originally, it was eaten by the mountain herdsmen.
The texture is soft and creamy, and the flavors are mild, milky, and slightly grassy. Tosella is often cut into slices, then browned in butter and served with local sausages and polenta on the side. It's recommended to pair it with a bottle of Prosecco.
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Vezzena is a traditional cheese hailing from Trento, where it's been produced in the alpine farms of Lavarone, Vezzena, and Folgaria since the early 1900s. The cheese is made from June to September from partially skimmed raw cow's milk and it's usually left to mature from 12 to 24 months.
There are a few versions of the cheese – fresh, medium-aged, aged, and extra-aged (more than 24 months). The texture is semi-hard, creamy, open, and buttery, while the grainy texture can be found in aged versions. The flavor is pleasantly bitter, herbaceous, piquant, intense, and earthy.
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Best Trentino Cow's Milk Cheese Producers
Best Trentino Cow's Milk Cheeses
AWARDS
World Cheese Awards - Gold
2024
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